Kindergarten Handbook
Kindergarten Handbook
The ABC’s of Kindergarten
Welcome to Mrs. Woods’ Kindergarten. I am delighted to have your child in my class this year. Kindergarten is a time of new beginnings, of making friends, and of learning lots of new things each and every day. I hope this handbook will help you and your child answer any questions.
A
Arrival
Students may begin entering their classroom at 8:15 am and the tardy bell will ring at 8:40 am. Students will be dismissed at 3:30pm. Students riding a bus will be dismissed to the bus pick up area at the front of the school. Students being picked up by their families will be dismissed to the side doors to the parent pickup area.
If your child is leaving early from school (for example a doctor’s appointment) you must sign your child out at the office and they will call to have your child sent to the office for you to pick them up. If you want your child to go home differently (for example to ride home with another parent or student) then you must send a note to school in their red folder.
Attendance
Good attendance is crucial for student learning! Please contact the school office any time your child is absent from school. If your child has been ill, do not send him/her back to school until they have been free of vomiting and/or a fever for twenty-four hours. School starts at 8:40. Please have your child at school on time.
B
Backpacks
Your child should bring his/her backpack to school every day. Please make sure your child’s backpack is large enough to hold a 2-pocket folder. The backpack will be used to carry his/her daily folder to and from school. I ask that you check the folder daily for information regarding your child’s progress, as well as important school information. Please send it back every day and I will check the daily folder for important information. We do not look through students’ backpacks for notes or papers that need to be turned in; it is the child’s responsibility to give these things to the teacher in the daily folder.
Birthdays
We love to celebrate birthdays! If you would like to send treats for your child’s birthday, you may. Due to health regulations, we cannot have anything homemade. If your child’s birthday is during the summer, we will celebrate it at the end of the year.
C
Communication
Throughout the year I communicate with you through notes, telephone calls, parent teacher conferences, and newsletters. I encourage you to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. You may contact me before or after school (at 742-4639), by email (at [email protected]), by note, or make an appointment. I look forward to working with you to make your child’s Kindergarten experience a positive one!
Clothing
Your child’s safety is of the utmost importance, so please have your child wear tennis shoes and play clothes to school on P.E days. Also, please make sure your child is able to button and zip his/her own pants, as this may help prevent bathroom accidents.
Conferences
Parent-Teacher conferences will be held at the end of the first quarter. If you would like to have a conference at any other time to discuss your child’s progress, please let me know. It is important that we have open communication about your child, so I am happy to schedule a meeting with you any time.
D
Daily Schedule
There is a copy of our daily schedule on our classroom blog under the tab “more”. It will change throughout the year as students’ needs and abilities change. Special class rotation changes 3 times a year so I will notify you when PE days change.
Discipline
Your child deserves the most positive educational climate possible for academic growth. I will discuss our discipline plan many times during the first weeks of school, but I would appreciate it if you would review the plan with your child. (I will send you detailed information about this after we discuss it in class) Our goal is to help students become responsible for their behavior choices.
Dismissal
Students will be dismissed at 3:30pm (3:10 on Monday). Students riding a bus will be dismissed to the bus pick up area at the front of the school. Students being picked up by their families will be dismissed to the side doors. Parents are discouraged from coming into the building to pick their children up. The car line looks long, but is actually very quick to go through.
If your child is leaving early from school (for example a doctor’s appointment) you must sign your child out at the office and they will call to have your child sent to the office for you to pick them up. If you want your child to go home differently (for example to ride home with another parent or student) then you must send a note to school.
E
Early Out Mondays
The Willard School District will be dismissing school 30 minutes early every Monday.
We will dismiss at 3:10.
Email
You can contact me through email, [email protected]. We encourage parents to contact us through email rather than by phone during the school day if possible. Please give me 24 hours to respond. I usually respond much quicker than that, but with a classroom of kindergarten children, sometimes it will take me a little longer.
Emergency Numbers
Please keep the office up to date on any changes you may have in phone numbers. It is vital that we are able to contact you.
F
Family
We consider ourselves one big family at Willard East Elementary. We welcome you as the newest members of our family!
G
Guided Reading
Guided Reading is a critical part of our reading instruction. Students will receive small-group reading instruction on their level. Groups will change frequently, as all students learn at a different pace.
H
Help at Home
We believe the partnership between the teacher and parents is critical for student success. You are your child’s first teacher, and your help at home is so important. I encourage you to read with your child at home every day.
Health
Please let me know if there are special circumstances which may affect your child. These could include medication that makes your child sleepy, a death in the family, etc. Also, please let the nurse and I know of any allergies your child may have, especially food allergies. We do many activities with food throughout the year to complement our lessons and it would be helpful to know when I am planning activities.
I
Illness
Please do not send your child to school if he or she is sick, as it may cause illness to spread. Students must be free of symptoms (fever, vomiting, and diarrhea) without medication for twenty-four hours before returning to school.
Invitations
If you are planning a party and would like to pass out invitations at school please make sure that EVERYONE in the class is invited. If it is just select people, the invitations cannot be passed out at school, as this may cause feelings to be hurt.
J
Joy of Learning
Learning should be enjoyable for students! My intention is to teach skills appropriate to my students' development that will encourage them to become lifelong learners. I want your student to be excited to come to school and learn throughout his/her school career. Let Kindergarten be the foundation for that love of learning.
K
Kindness
Students in our classroom are encouraged and expected to treat all members of our class and of our school with kindness and respect at all times. Bothering others, bullying, and interrupting learning will not be permitted.
L
Library
Students have Library once a week. They are allowed to check out a library book each week and take it home.
Literacy
Our Communications Arts curriculum reflects a balanced literacy program. Students are immersed in reading and writing throughout the day in a variety of ways, including read-alouds, Shared Reading (big books), phonics instruction, word building, writer’s workshop, Guided Reading, etc. One of my most important jobs as a kindergarten teacher is to build a strong foundation in reading and writing.
Lunch
Lunch money that you send to school will be credited to your child’s account. You do not need to set up an account at the beginning of the year, you have one created as soon as your child begins school. Please send money to be put in this account in a labeled envelope (name and purpose of money "lunch money"). Send the envelope to school in your child’s Take Home Folder. When there is a deficit in your child’s lunch account, the school will send a note home.
Students will have 25 minutes to eat lunch. Parents are also welcome to eat lunch with their children. Please let me know in advance if you are planning on eating with your child and if you would like to purchase a school lunch so that I may include it in the lunch count.
M
Manners
Good manners are encouraged and expected in the classroom and in the school. This helps to create a respectful, safe, and comfortable learning environment.
Math
Our kindergarten math curriculum, Investigations, provides students with mathematical experiences that help them develop number sense and a positive attitude that will help them throughout their entire school career. We employ a hands-on, problem solving approach. Math games are an important part of our math curriculum.
Medicines at School
The students are not allowed to have any medicines in the classroom. If they have a prescription medicine to be taken during the day, you will need to notify the school nurse.
N
Newsletters
Each week I will send out a classroom newsletter in the form of a blog. It will contain important information about our classroom and school events. You may request a paper copy if needed.
O
P
Parties
We will have three class parties, a Fall party, Winter holiday party, and a Valentine’s Day party, which will be planned by the homeroom parent(s).
Q
Questions
Please feel free to contact me any time!
R
Rest n’ Read
We do have a resting time in kindergarten. We call it Rest n’ Read. After some quiet time, I allow students to look at a book. Kindergarten is very busy and Rest n’ Read is needed by all. Please send a resting towel to school (towel/beach towel with your child’s name on it) for your kindergartner to use during rest time. We will use rest towels only at the beginning of the year and I will send a note home when they are no longer needed. I will send towels home on Fridays to be washed, please return the following Monday. Please remind your child that toys/pillows/blankets are not allowed at school and should not be brought for Rest n’ Read (this includes stuffed animals).
Recess
We have at least 25 minutes of recess each day. Please be aware of the weather and help your child dress appropriately. We will be going outside unless the wind chill is below thirty-two degrees.
Restroom
We will take a few restroom breaks throughout the day. Students may also go to the restroom by themselves in our classroom. Please let me know if your child must use the restroom very frequently, or if your child has accidents often. Some parents choose to have their children keep extra clothes in their backpacks just in case of an accident, especially at the beginning of the school year.
S
Shoe Tying
Please help your child practice tying his/her shoes at home. It takes a lot of practice, so keep working at it! We have a very rigorous curriculum, so we will not spend class time learning to tie shoes. If your child cannot tie their shoes, please do not send them in shoes with laces.
Shoes
Tennis shoes or closed-toe shoes are strongly encouraged every day! It is difficult for students to run and play safely at recess in flip-flops and sandals.
Snacks
I will send out a snack calendar at the beginning of each month. On your child’s snack day, please send enough snacks for everyone in the class. Snacks cannot be homemade. They do not need to be individually packaged. We have access to a refrigerator if the snack needs to be refrigerated. You may send in drinks too, but that is optional. Some ideas for snack: applesauce cups (please send spoons too), pudding cups, Go-Gurt, cheeze-Its (I have napkins to put these on-no need for plates), bananas, granola bars, teddy grahams, animal crackers… Anything is fine as long as it is not chips, soda, candy etc…
Supplies
You should have received a supply list when you registered your child for kindergarten. We may request other supplies during the year as we run out of things.
T
Toys
Children are not allowed to bring toys to school. If a toy is accidentally lost or broken, feelings are hurt. Toys that are brought to school will be confiscated by school staff.
Take Home Folder
Your child will be responsible for transporting their Take Home Folder to and from school daily. I encourage families to look over the completed work with their student. The folders will be our way of communicating. Notes to me, lunch money (in a marked envelope, please), and book orders should be sent to school in the folders.
U
Unique
Kindergarten is a unique experience. It is the foundation for success, and every child deserves to be successful. That is my intention for this school year. There will be A LOT of learning going on this year, and young children learn through active, hands-on experiences and through play.
V
Visitors
For the safety of our students, all visitors must sign in at the office.
Volunteers
You are welcome to become involved in whatever way is possible for your family. We are always in need of donations to help with our learning. I will let you know what we will need in our classroom blog. I also need help putting together Book Order Forms (you can do this at home), help with class parties, making copies at school, etc… If you are interested please let me know!
W
Web Site
I have a classroom web site. On this site, you will find the newsletter, snack calendar, information about our curriculum and more. It will be updated frequently. You can find the site at http://woodskindergarten.weebly.com. I will email you every time I update the newsletter portion of the website. If you need me to add/change an email address to send the updates to, let me know.
Writing
We use the Writer’s Workshop framework in our classroom. This format honors where all students are on the writing continuum, and allows students to learn the process of writing in a risk-free environment. Students will have independent writing time each day. We will also teach students in one-on-one writing conferences and small assisted writing groups. This allows the teacher to scaffold each student as an emerging writer. Students begin with drawing pictures that tell a story, and eventually begin to write letters, words, and sentences to represent a message. Encourage your child by providing paper, pencils, crayons, etc. Writing serves a purpose, and purposeful learning is the most powerful learning of all!
X
Extraordinary Learning
We have a year of extraordinary learning experiences ahead of us!
Y
Younger Siblings
We love having parent volunteers in the classroom for special activities. It is in your child's best interest to have our parent volunteers available without younger children. This will allow you to be focused on the class and have some special time with your kindergartener. Thank you for making childcare arrangements for your child's younger sibling(s).
Z
Kindergarten Handbook
The ABC’s of Kindergarten
Welcome to Mrs. Woods’ Kindergarten. I am delighted to have your child in my class this year. Kindergarten is a time of new beginnings, of making friends, and of learning lots of new things each and every day. I hope this handbook will help you and your child answer any questions.
A
Arrival
Students may begin entering their classroom at 8:15 am and the tardy bell will ring at 8:40 am. Students will be dismissed at 3:30pm. Students riding a bus will be dismissed to the bus pick up area at the front of the school. Students being picked up by their families will be dismissed to the side doors to the parent pickup area.
If your child is leaving early from school (for example a doctor’s appointment) you must sign your child out at the office and they will call to have your child sent to the office for you to pick them up. If you want your child to go home differently (for example to ride home with another parent or student) then you must send a note to school in their red folder.
Attendance
Good attendance is crucial for student learning! Please contact the school office any time your child is absent from school. If your child has been ill, do not send him/her back to school until they have been free of vomiting and/or a fever for twenty-four hours. School starts at 8:40. Please have your child at school on time.
B
Backpacks
Your child should bring his/her backpack to school every day. Please make sure your child’s backpack is large enough to hold a 2-pocket folder. The backpack will be used to carry his/her daily folder to and from school. I ask that you check the folder daily for information regarding your child’s progress, as well as important school information. Please send it back every day and I will check the daily folder for important information. We do not look through students’ backpacks for notes or papers that need to be turned in; it is the child’s responsibility to give these things to the teacher in the daily folder.
Birthdays
We love to celebrate birthdays! If you would like to send treats for your child’s birthday, you may. Due to health regulations, we cannot have anything homemade. If your child’s birthday is during the summer, we will celebrate it at the end of the year.
C
Communication
Throughout the year I communicate with you through notes, telephone calls, parent teacher conferences, and newsletters. I encourage you to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. You may contact me before or after school (at 742-4639), by email (at [email protected]), by note, or make an appointment. I look forward to working with you to make your child’s Kindergarten experience a positive one!
Clothing
Your child’s safety is of the utmost importance, so please have your child wear tennis shoes and play clothes to school on P.E days. Also, please make sure your child is able to button and zip his/her own pants, as this may help prevent bathroom accidents.
Conferences
Parent-Teacher conferences will be held at the end of the first quarter. If you would like to have a conference at any other time to discuss your child’s progress, please let me know. It is important that we have open communication about your child, so I am happy to schedule a meeting with you any time.
D
Daily Schedule
There is a copy of our daily schedule on our classroom blog under the tab “more”. It will change throughout the year as students’ needs and abilities change. Special class rotation changes 3 times a year so I will notify you when PE days change.
Discipline
Your child deserves the most positive educational climate possible for academic growth. I will discuss our discipline plan many times during the first weeks of school, but I would appreciate it if you would review the plan with your child. (I will send you detailed information about this after we discuss it in class) Our goal is to help students become responsible for their behavior choices.
Dismissal
Students will be dismissed at 3:30pm (3:10 on Monday). Students riding a bus will be dismissed to the bus pick up area at the front of the school. Students being picked up by their families will be dismissed to the side doors. Parents are discouraged from coming into the building to pick their children up. The car line looks long, but is actually very quick to go through.
If your child is leaving early from school (for example a doctor’s appointment) you must sign your child out at the office and they will call to have your child sent to the office for you to pick them up. If you want your child to go home differently (for example to ride home with another parent or student) then you must send a note to school.
E
Early Out Mondays
The Willard School District will be dismissing school 30 minutes early every Monday.
We will dismiss at 3:10.
You can contact me through email, [email protected]. We encourage parents to contact us through email rather than by phone during the school day if possible. Please give me 24 hours to respond. I usually respond much quicker than that, but with a classroom of kindergarten children, sometimes it will take me a little longer.
Emergency Numbers
Please keep the office up to date on any changes you may have in phone numbers. It is vital that we are able to contact you.
F
Family
We consider ourselves one big family at Willard East Elementary. We welcome you as the newest members of our family!
G
Guided Reading
Guided Reading is a critical part of our reading instruction. Students will receive small-group reading instruction on their level. Groups will change frequently, as all students learn at a different pace.
H
Help at Home
We believe the partnership between the teacher and parents is critical for student success. You are your child’s first teacher, and your help at home is so important. I encourage you to read with your child at home every day.
Health
Please let me know if there are special circumstances which may affect your child. These could include medication that makes your child sleepy, a death in the family, etc. Also, please let the nurse and I know of any allergies your child may have, especially food allergies. We do many activities with food throughout the year to complement our lessons and it would be helpful to know when I am planning activities.
I
Illness
Please do not send your child to school if he or she is sick, as it may cause illness to spread. Students must be free of symptoms (fever, vomiting, and diarrhea) without medication for twenty-four hours before returning to school.
Invitations
If you are planning a party and would like to pass out invitations at school please make sure that EVERYONE in the class is invited. If it is just select people, the invitations cannot be passed out at school, as this may cause feelings to be hurt.
J
Joy of Learning
Learning should be enjoyable for students! My intention is to teach skills appropriate to my students' development that will encourage them to become lifelong learners. I want your student to be excited to come to school and learn throughout his/her school career. Let Kindergarten be the foundation for that love of learning.
K
Kindness
Students in our classroom are encouraged and expected to treat all members of our class and of our school with kindness and respect at all times. Bothering others, bullying, and interrupting learning will not be permitted.
L
Library
Students have Library once a week. They are allowed to check out a library book each week and take it home.
Literacy
Our Communications Arts curriculum reflects a balanced literacy program. Students are immersed in reading and writing throughout the day in a variety of ways, including read-alouds, Shared Reading (big books), phonics instruction, word building, writer’s workshop, Guided Reading, etc. One of my most important jobs as a kindergarten teacher is to build a strong foundation in reading and writing.
Lunch
Lunch money that you send to school will be credited to your child’s account. You do not need to set up an account at the beginning of the year, you have one created as soon as your child begins school. Please send money to be put in this account in a labeled envelope (name and purpose of money "lunch money"). Send the envelope to school in your child’s Take Home Folder. When there is a deficit in your child’s lunch account, the school will send a note home.
Students will have 25 minutes to eat lunch. Parents are also welcome to eat lunch with their children. Please let me know in advance if you are planning on eating with your child and if you would like to purchase a school lunch so that I may include it in the lunch count.
M
Manners
Good manners are encouraged and expected in the classroom and in the school. This helps to create a respectful, safe, and comfortable learning environment.
Math
Our kindergarten math curriculum, Investigations, provides students with mathematical experiences that help them develop number sense and a positive attitude that will help them throughout their entire school career. We employ a hands-on, problem solving approach. Math games are an important part of our math curriculum.
Medicines at School
The students are not allowed to have any medicines in the classroom. If they have a prescription medicine to be taken during the day, you will need to notify the school nurse.
N
Newsletters
Each week I will send out a classroom newsletter in the form of a blog. It will contain important information about our classroom and school events. You may request a paper copy if needed.
O
P
Parties
We will have three class parties, a Fall party, Winter holiday party, and a Valentine’s Day party, which will be planned by the homeroom parent(s).
Q
Questions
Please feel free to contact me any time!
R
Rest n’ Read
We do have a resting time in kindergarten. We call it Rest n’ Read. After some quiet time, I allow students to look at a book. Kindergarten is very busy and Rest n’ Read is needed by all. Please send a resting towel to school (towel/beach towel with your child’s name on it) for your kindergartner to use during rest time. We will use rest towels only at the beginning of the year and I will send a note home when they are no longer needed. I will send towels home on Fridays to be washed, please return the following Monday. Please remind your child that toys/pillows/blankets are not allowed at school and should not be brought for Rest n’ Read (this includes stuffed animals).
Recess
We have at least 25 minutes of recess each day. Please be aware of the weather and help your child dress appropriately. We will be going outside unless the wind chill is below thirty-two degrees.
Restroom
We will take a few restroom breaks throughout the day. Students may also go to the restroom by themselves in our classroom. Please let me know if your child must use the restroom very frequently, or if your child has accidents often. Some parents choose to have their children keep extra clothes in their backpacks just in case of an accident, especially at the beginning of the school year.
S
Shoe Tying
Please help your child practice tying his/her shoes at home. It takes a lot of practice, so keep working at it! We have a very rigorous curriculum, so we will not spend class time learning to tie shoes. If your child cannot tie their shoes, please do not send them in shoes with laces.
Shoes
Tennis shoes or closed-toe shoes are strongly encouraged every day! It is difficult for students to run and play safely at recess in flip-flops and sandals.
Snacks
I will send out a snack calendar at the beginning of each month. On your child’s snack day, please send enough snacks for everyone in the class. Snacks cannot be homemade. They do not need to be individually packaged. We have access to a refrigerator if the snack needs to be refrigerated. You may send in drinks too, but that is optional. Some ideas for snack: applesauce cups (please send spoons too), pudding cups, Go-Gurt, cheeze-Its (I have napkins to put these on-no need for plates), bananas, granola bars, teddy grahams, animal crackers… Anything is fine as long as it is not chips, soda, candy etc…
Supplies
You should have received a supply list when you registered your child for kindergarten. We may request other supplies during the year as we run out of things.
T
Toys
Children are not allowed to bring toys to school. If a toy is accidentally lost or broken, feelings are hurt. Toys that are brought to school will be confiscated by school staff.
Take Home Folder
Your child will be responsible for transporting their Take Home Folder to and from school daily. I encourage families to look over the completed work with their student. The folders will be our way of communicating. Notes to me, lunch money (in a marked envelope, please), and book orders should be sent to school in the folders.
U
Unique
Kindergarten is a unique experience. It is the foundation for success, and every child deserves to be successful. That is my intention for this school year. There will be A LOT of learning going on this year, and young children learn through active, hands-on experiences and through play.
V
Visitors
For the safety of our students, all visitors must sign in at the office.
Volunteers
You are welcome to become involved in whatever way is possible for your family. We are always in need of donations to help with our learning. I will let you know what we will need in our classroom blog. I also need help putting together Book Order Forms (you can do this at home), help with class parties, making copies at school, etc… If you are interested please let me know!
W
Web Site
I have a classroom web site. On this site, you will find the newsletter, snack calendar, information about our curriculum and more. It will be updated frequently. You can find the site at http://woodskindergarten.weebly.com. I will email you every time I update the newsletter portion of the website. If you need me to add/change an email address to send the updates to, let me know.
Writing
We use the Writer’s Workshop framework in our classroom. This format honors where all students are on the writing continuum, and allows students to learn the process of writing in a risk-free environment. Students will have independent writing time each day. We will also teach students in one-on-one writing conferences and small assisted writing groups. This allows the teacher to scaffold each student as an emerging writer. Students begin with drawing pictures that tell a story, and eventually begin to write letters, words, and sentences to represent a message. Encourage your child by providing paper, pencils, crayons, etc. Writing serves a purpose, and purposeful learning is the most powerful learning of all!
X
Extraordinary Learning
We have a year of extraordinary learning experiences ahead of us!
Y
Younger Siblings
We love having parent volunteers in the classroom for special activities. It is in your child's best interest to have our parent volunteers available without younger children. This will allow you to be focused on the class and have some special time with your kindergartener. Thank you for making childcare arrangements for your child's younger sibling(s).
Z